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The United States and Colombia: Recalibrating the Relationship
- Brookings Institution Press
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55 four The United States and Colombia: Recalibrating the Relationship Michael Shifter The United States and Colombia have enjoyed a long and close, yet often complicated, relationship that has gone through various stages. In light of the changed political environment both in Washington and in Bogotá under the new administration inaugurated in August 2010, the time has come to rethink that relationship. Such a rethinking might begin with the current moment. The United States, faced with severe and competing budget pressures, is planning to wind down its decade-long anti-drug package generally known as Plan Colombia, a comprehensive program designed to reduce drug trafficking and restore security chiefly by providing military equipment and training to the Colombian government. Meanwhile Colombia is preparing to assume greater responsibility for tackling its security-related challenges. Also important to consider is Colombia’s performance in improving the quality of its democratic governance. That record is decidedly mixed, marked by impressive institutional strengths and notable advances in recent years, but also by an array of pending and profound problems, including a continuing armed conflict and a serious human rights situation. All in all, the decade of Plan Colombia yields a number of lessons that should help the United States decide how best to recalibrate its relationship with such an important South American partner. Changed Context, New Opportunity On February 26, 2010, Colombia’s respected Constitutional Court put to rest a question that had long been looming, and that created uncertainty and 04-0562-8 ch4.indd 55 11/2/10 11:11 AM 56 Michael Shifter confusion both inside Colombia and between Bogotá and Washington. At issue was whether Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s two-term president, would be eligible to run for a third term and could proceed with a national referendum in pursuit of that aim. In an unexpectedly categorical 7-2 ruling, the court, invoking several arguments , including procedural irregularities, found that such a referendum would be unconstitutional. Uribe respected the court’s decision, expressing his “love for Colombia,” and thus opened the way for a competitive campaign for the Colombian presidency. Since his election in 2002, Uribe has dominated the political landscape in Colombia. He has been a markedly take-charge, indefatigable president, determined to pursue a “democratic security” policy that would help reassert the authority of the state in Colombian territory. Though Uribe’s record and legacy will be long debated, it is beyond question that many of the key tendencies of the nation’s deteriorated security situation have been reversed under his two administrations. Homicide rates are at their lowest point in more than two decades, and kidnappings have dropped sharply. The state’s capacity to protect its citizens has improved in large part because police presence throughout the country is much greater and the military is in general more professional. As a result, the public’s mood and psychology have changed dramatically, as reflected in its growing trust in government institutions and confidence that they spend tax dollars wisely. That renewed optimism accounted for Uribe’s record popularity and support at the end of his tenure—even though, for a variety of reasons, it had dipped somewhat in late 2009 and early 2010. At the same time, Colombia abounds in paradoxes and contradictions, resembling its historical pattern of very positive trends coexisting with markedly worrying ones. Sweeping characterizations of Colombian democracy should therefore be greeted with some skepticism. Although the Constitutional Court reaffirmed the country’s adherence to the rule of law—and thus highlighted one of its main institutional strengths—the challenges to full constitutional safeguards and democratic governance are persistent and formidable . Despite some improvements, the human rights situation remains severe, particularly in some parts of the country where violence is widespread and state protection woefully inadequate. Judicial proceedings may be more transparent, but impunity levels from criminal prosecutions are unacceptably high. In addition, Colombia has been beset by a host of troubling scandals. One involves military personnel alleged to have killed a significant number of 04-0562-8 ch4.indd 56 11/2/10 11:11 AM [44.203.58.132] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 18:49 GMT) The United States and Colombia 57 innocent victims extrajudicially in order to increase the count of presumed insurgents and obtain accompanying bonus payments. To add to these problems , the intelligence service continues its pervasive surveillance of political opponents, paramilitary influences have penetrated the political system, and recent security gains are backsliding with the resurgence of violence...